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Adrian Toomes/The Vulture
Adrian Toomes was born in Staten Island, New York. He is a former electronics engineer who was once the business partner of Gregory Bestman; Bestman handled the finances whilst Toomes handled the inventions. One day, after creating a flight harness, Toomes eagerly rushed into Bestman's office to share the happy news. However, Bestman was not there, and Toomes discovered that Bestman had secretly been embezzling funds and that Toomes had no legal recourse, meaning he lost his job. Enraged, Toomes wrecked the business, discovering that the harness also granted him superhuman strength. He then decided to turn to crime professionally as the Vulture. The Vulture employs a special harness of his own design that allows him to fly; his flight is directed by a pair of wings worn on his arms. The harness also endows him with enhanced strength and (according to some sources) increases his lifespan. Although Toomes is advanced in age, he is a strong fighter and a remorseless killer. On one occasion, he restored his youth through biochemical means, though this wore off after exposure to an elemental superhuman's corpse. At one point, he had used a device to steal Spider-Man's youth, leaving Vulture young and Spider-Man elderly, but this effect wore off within hours. Vulture was on a robbery and burglary spree throughout New York City when he first encountered Spider-Man. Spider-Man realized for the first time he could sell photos to J. Jonah Jameson after the Daily Bugle offered a reward for a picture of Vulture. Due to his preoccupation with his camera, Spider-Man was knocked out by Vulture and sealed in a watertank with sides too slippery to climb up, but was able to break free. Vulture then challenged the police, saying he was going to steal diamonds; however, he escaped through the sewer. Spider-Man had created a device that stopped Vulture's harness from working and activated it during an airborne fight with Vulture, causing the two to crash onto a roof, knocking Vulture unconscious. He was then arrested. Vulture modified his harness, and attempted to rob the Daily Bugle payroll. He joined Doctor Octopus's first Sinister Six, and gave the message to the Daily Bugle that they had captured Betty Brant. He was the last foe to battle Spider-Man before Doctor Octopus. He forced Spider-Man to remove his web-shooters by threatening to fly away, then squirted oil onto the roof, and tried to push Spider-Man off using a wind created by his wings, but Spider-Man escaped this. The Vulture was caught after Spider-Man swung onto him using a lasso. He then told Spider-Man where to find the lair of Doctor Octopus, and like the rest of the team was jailed by the end of the story. Later, believing himself to be dying in prison due to injuries in the prison workshop, Toomes revealed the location of an extra Vulture outfit on the prison grounds to his cellmate Blackie Drago (who became the second Vulture). Blackie revealed to Toomes he caused the accident for this purpose. Toomes was angry, but apparently fell unconscious within the next few minutes; Blackie knocked out a guard, dug up the wings, and escaped. Drago, as the Vulture, teamed with Kraven the Hunter against Spider-Man. Toomes ultimately got out of prison - crediting his hatred for Drago's actions with the strength to overcome his injuries - and defeated Drago. Toomes then nearly defeated Spider-Man in battle, injuring his arm before Spider-Man managed to play possum and tricked Toomes into coming in close enough for Spider-Man to damage his power pack and force his enemy to back off. Some time later, Dr. Clifton Shallot mutated his body into a form resembling Toomes's, but possessing natural wings and flight capability. Vulture later humiliated the racketeering mobster Mr. Morgan, who hired the Hitman to kill Spider-Man, trying to rob the Vulture of his revenge. Vulture then arranged the murder of New York's top mobsters to become New York's new crime lord, and battled Spider-Man. Vulture later escaped prison, and battled Spider-Man again. Vulture came out of retirement to claim vengeance on Gregory Bestman, his former research partner who embezzled him out of the profits. He then confronted the Vulturions, a group of criminal youths who stole his designs. He became involved in Atlantic City casino racketeering to prepare for his own ostentatious funeral, but was thwarted by the Hobgoblin. Reduced to a "mere salesman", he journeyed to Las Vegas, where he attacked Morris "Snake" Diamond in the middle of the desert for stealing Toomes' blueprint journals for ultrasonic-sensitive dice. Intending to inject Snake with a mummification serum, Vulture was thwarted by Spider-Man (who had been granted a flight on Snake's plane back to New York) and agent Sara Glenville of the Central Intelligence Division. He later confronted the mutants Rusty Collins and Skids in an attempt to release Nitro. On more than one occasion, Toomes has been in league with several other Spider-Man villains in order to destroy the wall-crawler. Vulture has been in every incarnation of the Sinister Six, and appeared in the ranks of the Sinister Twelve. He has a strong friendship with fellow villain Electro; the two of them nearly beat Spider-Man to death. During one of his many periods of ill health, Toomes struck a friendship with Nathan Lubensky, a man who had become the new love of May Parker's life. Nathan was unaware of Toomes' true identity, and encouraged the injured criminal to take his chances with life and not to let handicaps drag him down (Nathan was a paraplegic). Toomes followed Nathan's advice and attempted to take over his rehab clinic as Vulture. A battle with Spider-Man led to Toomes almost killing Nathan; the shock of almost taking the life of a man who had helped to save his own distracted Toomes and led to his capture. Vulture would seemingly cherish Nathan's influence, but irony would serve him a cruel blow when he was hired by the Kingpin to assassinate a high-ranking casino runner. During another conflict with Spider-Man as part of Doctor Octopus's new Sinister Six, the Vulture sought to use a hostage as a shield, and selected May Parker from the crowd. Nathan, who was with May, leapt from his wheelchair and grabbed Toomes. Not realizing who it was, Toomes flew high into the air with Nathan on his back. The shock of seeing how high they were caused Nathan to suffer a fatal heart attack. Toomes fled as Nathan was falling. Though he was successfully caught by Spider-Man, Nathan would die in May's arms. Toomes was later diagnosed with cancer, caused by frequent exposure to the essentials needed to power his flying apparatus. In an attempt to be forgiven for all of his previous sins, Vulture terrorized the Parker household, pleading that May Parker forgive him for indirectly causing Nathan's death. An enraged Parker attacked Toomes, forcing the Vulture to capture him and take him back to his old lair. After escaping Toomes, Peter switched to Spider-Man and brutally assaulted the Vulture, and in the ensuing battle, Vulture's own power pack malfunctioned and exploded, setting his wings ablaze. Spider-Man successfully ripped the burning pack off of Toomes, and the two crash landed in a muddy ditch. After being arrested, Toomes was returned to the Parker home so May, reunited with Peter, could identify him. May hoped that Toomes' death would be slow and full of suffering. The next day, she visited Toomes in prison and apologized to him for her cruel remarks, but also stated that she could not forgive him, and that any kind of redemption would be left up to him and God. Vulture stumbled across a plot by the Chameleon and the Green Goblin (Harry Osborn) to drive Spider-Man insane by having shapeshifting androids impersonate his late mother and father; due to Toomes' interference, the androids were destroyed, leading the wall-crawler to a brief nervous breakdown. The Vulture absorbed the artificial life force from the Mary Parker android, and the effect on the Vulture was twofold; not only did he become a young man again, but he was instantly cured of his cancer. During this period he attempted to kill everyone who'd ever known him as an old man in an attempt to get a clean slate for his life, but this plan went wrong when he targeted a Prowler impersonator as the Prowler having once thwarted his attempted takeover of his old company; Toomes was unconcerned about the fact that the current Prowler was a thief who'd stolen costume of the original Prowler (Hobie Brown) and Spider-Man; although Toomes nearly gutted the fake Prowler, Spider-Man managed to get him to the hospital. During a later fight with Spider-Man, the Vulture was 'attacked' by David Kalen, a man capable of dissolving anything he touched who had turned his power on himself in his grief at the death of his brother. Toomes subsequently reverted to his old age, presumably due to Kalen's power having negated the youth effect. Adrian Toomes' identity as Vulture has been claimed by impostors on several occasions. Blackie Drago and Professor Clifton Shallot are two of them. Vulture technology was later copied by a group of thugs called "The Vulturions"; Toomes defeated these usurpers as well. In the Identity Disc series, it was revealed that Toomes, with the help of Sandman, manipulated Marvel villains Bullseye, Deadpool, Juggernaut and Sabretooth into laying siege to terrorist group A.I.M. headquarters in order to retrieve a disc containing the identities of undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives (including that of Toomes' daughter, Valeria Toomes, aka "Valerie Jessup"). During a brief time working for the Owl, he failed in a mission (and had his face brutally slashed by the Black Cat) and was severely beaten as punishment. He subsequently revealed himself as a member of Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve — though he wore a helmet, presumably to mask the wounds. Under the tutelage of Alyosha Kravinoff, the son of Kraven the Hunter, Toomes briefly attempted a stint at heroism, but before long he returned to the other side of the law. Aside from his daughter, Toomes also has a son whom he has dismissed, and a grandson from that son. The Vulture has come to care deeply for both his grandson and his mother, committing a series of robberies to finance a cure for his grandson's terminal illness. He once had a nephew, Malachai Toomes, and flew into a killing rage when he was murdered by a gang-lord. During the Civil War, he was apprehended along with the Grim Reaper and the Trapster, by Captain America and his growing Resistance, who chained him together with Grim Reaper to a pole and broke his nose. When he was found and taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D., he complained, "that lunatic broke my damn nose." After Spider-Man unmasked himself, Toomes was seen in his jail cell, knitting his fingers together. As someone on the television set said they hoped it would not be any trouble for Spider-Man, Toomes said, "Oh I think it will be." After Spider-Man goes rogue, Toomes is seen in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison cell speaking with Agent Jamie Madrox, and commenting on Spider-Man's inherent weakness, that being his unwillingness to use his powers for personal gain. S.H.I.E.L.D. then returns his flying harness and encourages him to hunt down Spider-Man, saying that he "is now an outlaw, same as you." Later, the Vulture attacks Spider-Man at a book signing, and manages to slash him with a powerful sedative. Toomes, however, falls unconscious and, sensing something is wrong, Spider-Man rushes him to the hospital. Toomes wakes up a few hours later, where a doctor reveals that he has suffered a stroke, and many of his muscles on the left side of his body have been paralyzed. When the doctor leaves, Spider-Man sneaks in and Toomes asks him to kill him because he is weak. When Spider-Man refuses to do so, he says that Spider-Man is also weak, and always has been. After making remarks about Uncle Ben, Spider-Man takes a pillow and begins suffocating him. He fights back, and Spidey removes the pillow, commenting that "For somebody who's begging to die, you fight for life pretty hard." When Alyosha Kravinoff began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, Vulture was one of his captives. To stop Vulture from using his intellect to find a way to remove his bomb collar, Kraven broke his hands repeatedly, but with the help of Rhino, Vulture escapes. Spider-Man later visits Vulture's cell to ask him about the latest person who calls himself the Vulture. Toomes says calmly that he has no connection to him, though he heard that the new Vulture was made that way by the mob and is out for revenge. He just as blandly states that while he normally hates people who steal the Vulture name, he would have no problem with him killing Spider-Man. Following the Spider-Island storyline, Vulture returns as the leader of an unnamed gang of penthouse thieves and murderers who have vulture-like wings, but with a new gothic style. The members of his gang have the same name of an angel that matches with the black angel look they have. However, it is swiftly revealed that the gang's technology is actually controlled by the Vulture, who designed their wings so that he could shut them down with a simple signal if they tried to act against him. Having used his new magnetically sensitive webbing to catch the gang and deactivate their wings, Spider-Man defeats Toomes despite his new use of his gravity-manipulating technology to give himself seemingly superhuman strength. Carlie Cooper later works with the Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius' mind in Spider-Man's body) to investigate a series of crimes committed by Vulture's gang. Spider-Man confronts Vulture and attempts to bribe him into giving up crime by offering him a small fortune from Octavius's hidden bank accounts. Vulture does not believe a word of it, and has his midget henchmen attack. Spider-Man accidentally knocks out one of the midget henchmen, who turns out to be a young boy. Realizing that the Vulture has been using children all this time, and remembering his own abusive childhood, Spider-Man attacks Vulture in a rage. After a brief midair struggle, Spider-Man blinds the Vulture with a searchlight, causing him to crash onto the roof. Carlie arrives and finds Vulture, broken and bloody but still alive. The Vulture's child henchmen are then recruited by the Goblin King to be part of his Goblin Nation. Vulture is later seen in the Raft's infirmary, along with Boomerang and Scorpion. When Alistair Smythe escapes with the help of his mini Spider-Slayers, he sends the mini Spider-Slayers into the infirmary, where they heal and enhance Vulture, Boomerang, and Scorpion in exchange for their assistance in killing Spider-Man. While Spider-Man fights Boomerang, Vulture is sent to attack the civilians in the Raft. Glory Grant, Norah Winters, and Smythe's lawyer plead with him to stop, claiming they can clear him of any charges, causing him to stop and consider his options. When Smythe dies, the Vulture's enhancements fail, leaving him blind once again. He is then tasered by Ted Shipley, the Raft's chief of security. The Vulture eventually has another encounter with the Superior Spider-Man, seeking revenge for his recent defeats, but is defeated again. The Vulture, Chameleon, Electro, Sandman, and Mysterion are later seen as part of a team led by Spider-Man called the "Superior Six", which is forced via mind control to perform heroic (and occasionally dangerous) deeds as an act of "redemption". When they are not being controlled, they are kept in containment cells. They eventually break free of Spider-Man's control and attempt to exact revenge on the wall-crawler, nearly destroying New York in the process. Spider-Man barely manages to stop them with Sun Girl's help. Adrian Toomes later developed a modified version of his Electromagnetic Wing Harness that has a reinforced helmet and lightweight, razor-sharp, nano-woven wings which responded to his mental commands where he took on the name Falcon where he believed the name to be vacant at the time. He robbed a location in East Village where he fought Spider-Man until they were immobilized by a new Trapster who made off with Falcon's loot. Category:Spider-Man Characters Category:Marvel Characters Category:Male Villains Category:Villains Category:Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters Category:Columbia Pictures Characters